Without You
by Amethyst StarSinger
Summary: Sequel to WJ. You guys all know about Kagome, but what about Becca? The crew and Kagome wonder if they'll ever see the InuGumi again. Even Becca begins to wonder if they'll ever see their friends ever again.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Nope, nothing.

Beware: Unedited

Without You

Chapter One

The group sat in a pile at the bottom of the well, everyone too shocked to speak or even move. One moment they had been rejoicing at their victory over Akagi, the next, they were in a heap in the modern era. The scene kept playing over and over in all of their heads.

Flashback

_"So what now?" Sango questioned. _

_Becca glanced down at her feet, which were slowly disappearing. She was surprised the others hadn't noticed it yet. "Our time here is done." She said softly. Everyone's head snapped around to stare at her. _

"_What is that?" Miroku asked in horror as he noticed that everyone's legs from the future were steadily vanishing. _

"_The Well's closing." Kagome said quietly. _

"_What do you mean the Well's closing?" Inuyasha demanded. _

"_We defeated Akagi. There's no reason for us to stay here anymore." Becca said, and Kagome kissed Inuyasha presumably goodbye. She never knew if she was going to see him ever again. Inuyasha hugged him tightly. He never expected he'd lose her this soon. _

_Becca turned to Kyoinu. "Thank you for waiting. It's too bad I was ready now, huh?" She asked, kissing him softly on the lips before walking to join her friends who were huddled in a group with a tinge of pink on her cheeks. Kyoinu stared at her with his eyes wide, his own cheeks a shade of pink. _

"_You guys will never know the impact you had on me. I'll never forget you." Kagome said, tears falling softly down her cheeks as she walked over to join the crew. She grabbed Becca's hand. _

"_We love you." The group chorused as they finally disappeared. _

"_The answers you seek can be found in Musashi's Domain. Never forget us." Becca's parting words were nothing but a whisper on the wind, but Sango, Miroku, Kirara, Kyoinu, Shippo and Inuyasha heard them loud and clear as they stood in the middle of the forest. Within a couple of minutes, the people they cared about most were gone. _

_They were really gone._

End Flashback

Suddenly, Kagome burst into tears, and dissolved into a sobbing mess. "I'm never gonna see Inuyasha or Sango or Shippo again!" She wailed miserably. "I even miss Miroku!" she sobbed. Becca could feel tears well up in her eyes, and she knew her friends were having the same reaction. Silently, she closed her eyes and prayed to every deity she could think of, _'Please let them find that damned potion!'_

After a half an hour of sitting at the bottom of the well, the group finally staggered to the main house. "Hey guys!" Suki called cheerily, after a warning look from Chris and Lyndsi, and upon seeing the girls' crestfallen faces, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"The well sealed for good." Lyndsi told her solemnly.

"Oh my…Are you guys okay?" Suki asked and Kagome and Becca nodded slowly. Not saying a word, they each headed upstairs, Kagome heading for her room, and Becca bee lining for the shower. Lyndsi took a deep breath, and started explaining to Suki what had happened.

Kagome sat on her bed, holding a picture of the Inu-gumi. They were all standing in a field, arms around each other. There was another picture in her lap of her and Inuyasha, cuddled in the Goshinboku in the early hours of the morning. Becca must've snapped it when they weren't paying attention. She wiped away the tears that were streaming down her face. She'd never see them again, and it killed her inside. She curled up on her side, her back facing the door, and just let it all out. She was going to cry for as long as it would take her to find a way back to them.

Becca sat in the deep tub, her hair hanging limply around her. She rested her chin on the side of the tub and let the tears fall down her face. This was the only time she would cry. She didn't have time to waste on tears. She wanted nothing more to be back there and rejoice with her friends, but she knew it wasn't possible. She simply had to wait. She couldn't do anything until they found her.

A week later

It had been a long week. Everyone had opted not to go to school, and focused instead on figuring out what to do. Becca had chosen to camp out on the Higurashi's couch, flipping through papers that had come in the mail for her from an address that only she knew.

The idea of going back home with or without Becca had crossed The Crew's minds a number of times, but nobody set anything in stone. It wasn't going to help them to leave their friend in the pain they knew she was denying she was feeling. Kagome had tried hunting down Kouga, but Becca knew it was useless. Kouga knew what was going on, and had orders from a high power to leave them be. Becca knew Sesshoumaru had motives to keep the wolf-prince away, and when she had tried to explain it to Kagome, the miko had threatened to "Tie him up with his mokomoko-sama and shove Tojikin where the sun don't shine." Becca sincerely hoped she found Sesshoumaru before Kagome, for her torture would be far less excruciating.

To keep her mind off of the most recent events, the Faery/sorceress was keeping herself busy by running her most recent idea by Suki.

"Mrs. H.?" Becca called quietly as she entered the kitchen.

"Becca? Why are you up so early?" Suki Questioned. Becca scowled at the clock, which read the ungodly hour of six-thirty in the morning.

"I have a question to ask, and I couldn't sleep." She admitted, sitting down at the table. Suki sat down and motioned for Becca to continue.

"I think Kagome should come live with me and come to my school. It might do her some good to be away from the shrine. Especially the Well. I can teleport us there by this afternoon. I think the faster she starts something new, the easier it will be on her." Becca explained, looking Suki in the eye.

"That sounds---wait, teleport?" Suki did a double take.

"Yeah, you didn't know I wasn't your average teenager?" Becca questioned. Suki shook her head, her mouth opening and closing. "Uh, Mrs. H., you might want to brace yourself. I look different than Inuyasha." Becca warned. Suki obediently plopped onto the floor.

Becca sighed and lifted a hand over her head and snapped her fingers. A cascade of purple sparks rained down on her revealing pointed ears and iridescent purple wings. They flapped twice, and suddenly Becca was sitting Indian style in mid-air. "I have to ability to jump from portal to portal. Except the Sengoku Jidai one apparently. The Gods just love messing with me. The portal was closed because Kagome fulfilled her destiny. She is now supposed to guard the completed Shikon no Tama in this world." Becca explained, and Suki's eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets. Becca sighed. "My mother was from the Sengoku Jidai. She's a Faery princess. Her parents were, and probably still are, Fae royalty. She fell in love with a sorcerer, and got pregnant. My grandparents disapproved and wanted my mother to abort the baby. So, my mother ran off and had the baby, me, in the present era. She ended up adopting a three-year-old human boy when I was six months old. Alex, my brother, became a youkai hunter, and he was killed on the job a couple of months before my mother. We covered it up as a car accident, since he was still in high school at the time. He became one of my spirit guardians, he watches over me and protects me so I don't get hurt or killed. Kagome's father is her spirit guardian. That's why he died when she was so young." Becca explained. Suki could only nod.

"A couple of months after Mom died, I started living with the crew, My Nee-chan, my almost-sister Lyndsi, who's also a sorceress, and my half-elfin wise-crack best friend Chris. That's what we started out with. Then came the live wires Amanda and Ashley, who we credit to never letting a moment be boring. Chris' girlfriend moved in with us a year later, soon followed by dumb and dumber Josh and Nick, along with another set of twins, Jess and Ashley G. They're total opposites, and nobody believed that they were actually twins at first. Somehow, Alyse, my all-time best friend got dragged into the mayhem." Becca paused to let it all sink in. Poor Suki was having one hell of a morning. Becca heaved a sigh and continued.

"About two years before she died, my mom shoved me through a portal back to the Sengoku Jidai. I ended up staying with Kouga, not knowing a word of Japanese and pretty new to my powers. While I was gone, my mother was murdered by a youkai. When I got back, that's when I moved in with the crew. Only Lyndsi and Chris really know what happened. The rest are under the impression that it was a car accident, just like Alex's death. The youkai cleaning crew who clean up big messes like that, or the Gut Dusters as they like to call themselves, told the humans that Mom had died in the accident, only telling Lyndsi and Chris what had really happened. They told everyone that I was staying with relatives until everything was sorted out. When I came back, I sought revenge. I killed the youkai and after a month, went back to school. Between Lyndsi, Chris, and my Mom, who helped from the spirit world, I caught up with everything that I had missed. I was constantly hopping back and forth between eras." Becca explained.

"Like Kagome." Suki noted.

"Exactly. Then, about last year, I met a spirit named Reianna, who must've been killed around the time Inuyasha was pinned to the Goshinboku. By then, I was working at the Demon Relations building, which is like a police station for youkai. She came to my boss, saying that there was a strong youkai in the Sengoku Jidai and Kagome and Inuyasha needed help. So, back I went through the portal, and the rest is history." Becca concluded, snapping her fingers once again and concealing her ears and wings. She took her spot at the table and faced Suki.

"Do you think she'll be happier?" Suki questioned quietly.

"I think she'll be able to cope better. I think all the reminders might get to her." Becca explained.

"Go ahead dear. I trust you. But, can I go and visit?" Suki asked hopefully. Becca smiled at her.

"She's just a call away. Call, and I'll get you there."

"Kagome! Rise and Shine!" An extremely perky voice broke through Kagome's dreamland. Kagome turned over and buried her head into her pillow. She was not getting up for anything. Inuyasha was gone, along with her friends and surrogate son. Becca had probably lost it and decided to be perky while Kagome was wallowing. Kagome was. Not. Getting. Up.

"HIGURASHI KAGOME! GET OUT OF BED THIS INSTANT!" Kagome sat up straight at her mother's thundering voice. Then again, maybe she was getting up. Kagome blinked her bleary eyes.

"Mrs. H., you're scary sometimes." Came Becca's voice again. As the room came into focus, Kagome looked at the clock. It read 8:15AM.

"What's so important? Just leave me here to die." Kagome groaned, collapsing back down only to find her pillow had vanished.

"I'm kicking you out!" Suki exclaimed, walking into the room with various pieces of luggage.

"What? Aren't you supposed to be comforting me?" Kagome asked. "Or leaving me alone?" She added. What the hell was going on?

"You're coming with me!" Becca declared.

"Aren't you supposed to be depressed and wallowing?" Kagome grouched.

"Been there, done that. C'mon, you stink. Into the shower." Becca said, hauling Kagome up and out of bed and shoving her into the bathroom and starting the shower. "You've got a half an hour and I want you downstairs. Trust me, you'll feel better." Becca said, depositing clothes on the sink and exiting the room, shutting the door behind her. Kagome stood in the center of the bathroom in a stupor.

"I think all that ice cream has gotten to her brain." She muttered, getting ready to get in the shower.

Becca burst into the apartment that Lyndsi, Ashley, Amanda, and Larissa shared. "Wake up!" She cried, pouncing on Lyndsi's bed.

"No. Sleep." Lyndsi protested.

"What, you don't wanna go home?" Becca asked slyly.

"HOME?!" all four sat up straight, and Becca was almost unseated.

"Hurry up and pack, I'm going to go wake up the guys." Becca said, heading off to the guy's apartment.

"Wake up! We're blowing this joint!" Becca exclaimed, bouncing on Chris' bed and snatching his pillow and whapping him with it. When she was satisfied that he was awake, she turned on her next unfortunate victim; Josh.

"What did you say about blowing a joint?" Chris asked groggily.

"We're," _whap_ "Going," _whap_ "Home," _whap_ "Today." _whap whap. _

"Okay! Okay! I'm up!" Josh grumbled.

"What flight?" Chris questioned, digging through the closet.

"Magick express." Becca answered flatly, turning her evil grin on the still-sleeping Nick.

"Oh joy." Chris said sarcastically through the bathroom door. Becca beat on Nick with the pillow until he rolled out of bed. Literally.

"Fuck!" He yelped. Becca laughed at him.

"My job here is done! Higurashi Shrine in an hour. Wait a sec, where the hell's Alyse and Ashley G.?" she asked suddenly, turning around.

"Sent 'em home. They wanted to go." Chris explained.

"Ah. Okay, Shrine. One hour. ¿Comprende?" Becca asked.

"Comprende. And don't you steal my sweatshirt!" Chris yelled through the bathroom door.

" Wouldn't dream of it!" Becca said, pulling her braid out of said sweatshirt.

_Without you,_

_The ground thaws,_

_The rain falls,_

_The grass grows._

_Without you,_

_The seeds root,_

_The flowers bloom,_

_The children play._

A/N: Well, I hope you guys liked it. As I've said before, this is more about Becca than Kagome. Kagome will be a main character in this story, but the story itself is in Becca's POV. I should be updating every other Thursday. You guys know the drill.

Bec


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I am so sorry! It was really hectic at the end of the school year, but I'm on vacation now! I should be updating on the normal schedule. Exactly five reviews. You guys are good!

When Becca got back to the shrine, she was attacked by Souta. "Can I go with you? Please?" He begged.

"Sorry Souta. You have to stay here and keep Jii-chan in line. Maybe during summer vacation." Becca allowed.

"Okay…Do you think Kagome is gonna be okay?" Souta asked.

"I don't know Souta. I haven't even fully grasped it. I don't know how long it's going to take for your sister to let it sink in. Your Mom and I are hoping she'll feel better in a different place. Hey, I've got to make a couple of phone calls that I want to get over with. Can you give me a yell when everyone else gets here?" Becca asked. Souta nodded and Becca walked into the house to call up the school department to tell them everyone was coming back and that the records for them plus Kagome would be sent today. She dialed the number and waited for someone to pick up. "Hey Ms. Allard, It's Becca Frueh." It was a good thing that her mom had been a secretary for the school department because Becca still had connections.

Kagome sat on her bed amidst her luggage, looking at a picture of the Inu-gumi. It was taken a week after the defeat of Naraku. Yeah, they were all banged up and bruised, but they were happy. Kagome had wondered why Kouga had known how to use the camera. It seemed so long ago.

Kagome didn't know she was crying until a pair of arms wrapped around her. "Shhhh…Kagome-chan…It's okay. You're okay." Becca said, hugging Kagome tightly. With one hand, she gently took the picture from Kagome. The miko started to sob. "Kagome, honey, Inuyasha wouldn't want you to fall apart like this. You're going to see him again, I promise. I swear I'll pull whatever strings I need to in order to find him." Becca assured her, hugging her tightly. "Then, we'll kick Inuyasha's ass, just to make you feel better." That earned a small laugh. "Do you think you can leave? Maybe we can hold off for an hour or so." Becca offered.

"No! I couldn't stop you guys from going back! We should leave!" Kagome exclaimed, getting up and picking up her overnight bag.

"Okay then. Let's go downstairs and open the portal!" Becca trumpeted, grabbing Kagome's hand and leading her downstairs. There, all magickal beings, including Kagome, joined hands while three of them recited the spell to open the portal.

"Gatekeeper that rules from space and time 

_Open the portal while the bells still chime_

_So I can return to the home that is mine."_

A nexus of blue energy appeared before them, getting steadily larger. When it finally stopped, they were looking at a room, a kitchen. "All right, one at a time guys. Make it quick!" Becca ordered, snapping the others out of their awe. Chris went first, followed by Ashley.

**An hour later….**

They had given the tour, unpacked, and then Kagome had crashed. Now she was sound asleep, and mostly everyone had gone to visit their parents. Becca was the only one to stay behind. So, while Kagome slept, Becca decided she had to set something straight. She wrote a note to Kagome, telling her she would be home soon and to stay in the building. She had then gotten into her car and headed to the office building that she thought of as work.

Parking her car, she walked into the building and up to the second floor. "Is Carl in the board room?" Becca asked the secretary sitting at the front desk.

"Yes, but he's not to be disturbed!" the small woman called after Becca as she kept walking.

"Newbie." Becca scoffed, striding down the hallway and bursting into the board room where a brown-haired man, appearing to be in his late thirties looked up. Upon seeing Becca, his face broke into a wide smile.

"Becca! How's my favorite hunter?"

"Carl, cut the crap. I'm not doing another case for at least another week. I just got back from doing that in Japan." Becca said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Ah yes, I must compliment you on a fine job defeating Akagi, even though I'm a bout five hundred years too late." Came an oddly calm male voice from behind her. Becca whirled around to find none other than Sesshoumaru sitting in one of the chairs in front of Carl's desk.

"Great! Now I can pester the both of you about where to find Inuyasha and Kyoinu." Becca spat, leaning against the desk.

"I assure you that I have not seen my baka brothers in at least two centuries." Sesshoumaru calmly replied.

"Now I know that's a crock, Fluffy, because you wouldn't have given Kouga orders to stay away from us. You know as well as I do that he can't keep his mouth shut. How he hadn't found me before, I have no clue. WHERE ARE THEY?" Becca screamed at him, pinning both men with a formidable glare. They both refused to answer, deftly meeting her eyes. "Damn youkai lords. Okay, you won't talk? Fine! I want a new case on my desk by next Monday night. I'll probably be late because I have this history class sit-in for college for next year. They want me to check it out so I can see if I want to go there for my major. And what's up with the new secretary?" Becca asked suddenly.

"Sandra? Maggie switched shifts, so now we have Sandra." Carl explained.

"Great. So now I have to train her, am I right?" Becca demanded.

"'Fraid so." Carl said. Becca heaved a sigh.

"Great. Schedule it for next weekend. I'll see if I can fit in between hunting, high school, and consoling a certain miko." Becca snapped, pinning Sesshoumaru with another glare. Carl nodded while Sesshoumaru glared right back with those golden orbs.

"Fine. I'm going to go and see if Paul hasn't completely destroyed my office. I swear, the guy's a walking time-bomb." Becca said, rolling her eyes and walking out of the door.

"Bye Carl, Lord Fluffy." She called over her shoulder. She missed the knowing glance the two shared, along with a grin.

'_This is what happens when I kill a youkai for revenge. Word gets out that I killed a youkai that had been wanted for months single-handedly, and BOOM! Now I have a job for one of the richest youkai in America, hunting youkai as a detective. What a wonderful job for an eighteen year old high school student.' _Becca thought bitterly as she neared Sandra's desk. The poor woman looked like she was about ready to burst into tears.

Becca heaved a sigh and walked up to the desk, leaning on it and looking straight at the timid woman. "Hey, I'm Becca Frueh. I'm sorry about that. I've had a crappy week, and Carl should have been expecting me and given you fair warning. I'm just straight up bitchy today." Becca said apologetically.

"Sandra D-D-Davis." The small woman stuttered out.

"Nice to meet you, Sandra. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and check if my office hasn't been blown to bits yet." Becca said, walking down another hallway to her office.

Cracking the door open slightly, she found Paul, a black-haired man appearing in his early twenties, with his expensive dress shoes on her desk, munching on a bag of potato chips. "Y'know, I feel so underdressed working with a bunch of youkai wearing skirts and suits. Here I am wearing jeans and a sweatshirt." Becca said as she opened the door all the way, letting herself in. Paul quickly jumped up and hid the bag of chips behind his back.

"Becca, back so soon?" Paul questioned nervously as he straightened his tie.

"What?" Are you that anxious to get rid of me?" Becca asked, walking over to her desk chair. "If you insist on eating chips in my chair while I'm gone, at least eat a good brand of chips and not this generic crap." Becca said, scowling, brushing off the crumbs on her seat before collapsing in her chair.

Becca opened her bottom drawer and dug out a bag of Smartfood Popcorn. "Just throw that shit away. This is way better." Becca said with a grin, throwing the snack-sized bag at Paul. "Alrighty then, my hunting partner. Fill me in with the short version. I have to cook dinner." Becca said, grabbing a bag of Smartfood for herself.

"Well, we busted a ring of demons kidnapping women for one. Then the small idiots who thought they were macho." Paul said, munching on his popcorn.

"Typical…Well, I just came to check up on things. I'm not coming back until next Monday. I had to ask Carl something. I'll see you in a week. Call me if there's an emergency. See ya Hachie." Becca said, getting up and walking out of her office.

"Later Frueh!" Paul called after her.

She bid goodbye to Sandra and descended down the steps and out the door. She unlocked her car and climbed in, shutting the door and resting her forehead on the steering wheel. "Damn it." She cursed. "I've got to find them. If not, Kagome and I will probably lose it. Inuyasha, you'd better not be planning something stupid. Don't do something the Monk would do." Becca said softly into nothing.

A/N: So what do you guys think? I'm up for guesses! Remember, five reviews, or nothing!! I missed you guys!

Bec


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This is going to be a looooong one, guys. Enjoy!

Kagome woke to the buzzing of an alarm clock. "Somebody kill that thing." Becca groaned, burying her head under her pillow. Kagome reached over and felt around the table between her bed and Becca's. She found the alarm and promptly hit the snooze button. "Thank God." Came Becca's muffled praise. On a normal day, Kagome would have collapsed and tried to get some more sleep, but today was different. She was going to a new school in a new country. She was definitely not getting back to sleep anytime soon. So, instead, she got out of bed and opened the closet she shared with Becca.

Out of habit, she reached for her uniform. "Kags, jeans and shirt." Came Becca's groggy voice, napping Kagome back into reality.

"Oh…duh." Kagome said sheepishly, putting the uniform back and taking out a pair of jeans. She grabbed a long-sleeved navy-blue T-shirt and headed to the bathroom.

Halfway down the hall, the phone started ringing, accompanied by curses from the other four occupants of the apartment. Kagome quickly answered the phone. "Moshi Mosh---hello?"

"Hey, can I talk to Becca?" came a male voice from the other end.

"Sure, hold on a second." Kagome said taking the cordless phone into her and Becca's room.

"Bec, it's for you." Becca cracked an eye open and looked at Kagome, then at the clock. She heaved a sigh and took the phone from Kagome.

"Paul, it is six-thirty in the morning, what is it?" Becca snapped, getting out of bed and walking groggily to the closet.

"There was a mugging outside of an alleyway at Hunt Street. The victim was killed, and the Gut Dusters need you to come check this one out before they clean. There's something you need to see." Becca pulled on a pair of pants and Kyoinu's "I Love Dogs" T-shirt.

"Fine. Gimme ten. I need to get everything ready for school first." Becca said, hanging up the phone.

Running a brush through her hair, she walked into Chris' room. "Hey, get up. I need to take off." Becca said as she brushed out her hair and started braiding it. Chris mumbled something incoherent and turned over so his back was facing Becca. A vein in Becca's head pulsed and she chucked her hairbrush at Chris' head. She hit her target with a satisfying whack.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?!" Chris demanded, sitting up and glaring at Becca.

"I need to leave. Somebody fucked up and guess who has to clean up the mess?" Becca asked, going into his closet.

"You couldn't wake Lyndsi up for that? And what are you stealing from my closet?" Chris asked, getting u9p and stretching.

"If I had woken up Lyndsi, then I wouldn't have been able to throw my brush at her when she didn't wake up. And I am taking my Stewie sweatshirt back because it's the only warm sip-up hoodie I have and you never gave it back." Becca pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. See you at school." Chris said, walking into the kitchen.

"Make sure Kagome waits for me so I can check her in with the Admin, okay? I should be there by 7:30 the latest. Bye Kags!" Becca yelled as she shut the door and zipped up her hoodie against the chilly October morning. She flew as fast as she could to where Paul had told her to meet him.

From what Kagome had said, if Akagi had been anything like Naraku, it would have taken them four years instead of four months to defeat him. She was thankful to be home and not getting hypothermia in the Sengoku Jidai.

All train of thought halted as Becca rounded the corner to the scene as she skidded to a halt. On the ground was a cat youkai, female, who's jugular had been sliced with a claw. "Damn it." Becca swore.

"Excuse me, this is a closed crime scene." Came a voice from behind her. Becca whirled around to find a lizard youkai dressed in a police uniform coming toward her.

"It's okay, I'm authorized." Becca said, flashing her badge and I.D.

"Okay." Came the reply. Becca walked over to Paul, who was looking for evidence around the body.

"Okay, my raccoon partner. Why the hell am I here?" Paul looked up and pointed grimly down the alleyway.

"What do you make of that?" he asked.

Becca walked down the alleyway and gasped. On the brick wall were marks that Becca had seen in enough trees to know what they were. "It means that your suspect is dead. Those markings are from Tetsusaiga, the sword forged by the great Inu no Taisho. This huntee has already been hunted. Just give the poor girl a proper burial." Becca said, walking back towards Paul.

"You mean that there's a maniac on the loose with a sword?" Paul questioned nervously.

"No, I mean that there's a trained hunter that's been doing this longer than you've been alive. Your suspect was lucky enough to meet a legend. Now, I've got to get to school before I'm late on my first day back. Something tells me it's going to be an interesting day. Bye Paul." Becca said, taking off as fast as she could to school. This was a good sign. It meant that at least Inuyasha was still alive.

Taking a shortcut through the park next to the school, she slowed her pace to a walk. Kagome stood at the front door, looking nervous. She had Inuyasha's hat on, along with one of Becca's backpacks. "Hey, Kags, you ready?" Becca asked, talking in Japanese to make Kagome a little more comfortable.

"You know, I've faced youkai with hair that'll slice you in half, and youkai that have tried to make me into a stew. I shouldn't be nervous." Kagome said with a shaky laugh.

"You know what, it's different. But, you'll have more fun here and you don't have to go to school on Saturday. No uniforms either!" You'll be fine!" Becca said, giving Kagome a reassuring hug. Kagome took a deep breath.

"All right, let's go. I want to get this over with." Kagome said, allowing Becca to lead her into the building.

"Hey Ms. Tucker. I have two schedules to pick up. One for Kagome Higurashi, and one for me." Becca said cheerfully. The secretary shuffled through papers on the counter and produced two sheets.

"Here you go. Becca, Mrs. Gerber has been looking for you. We have three other new students who need a tour of the building. They're also Japanese. Mrs. Gerber will fill you in." Ms. Tucker said, turning to answer the phone.

Becca led Kagome to her locker, which was right next to her own. "All right, who do you have first block?"

"Gerber."

"Really? That means we have the same first class." Becca explained, shutting her locker. "C'mon, I'll go introduce you to her." Becca said, grabbing Kagome's hand and leading her upstairs and knocking on the history office door.

A teacher opened the door and promptly breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God! I thought I was going to have to go try and hunt down Ms. Karten." The blonde woman said, dragging Becca into the office by the hand. Kagome followed cautiously behind them.

"Mrs. Gerber, this is Kagome Higurashi. She's new." Becca said as she was dragged along.

"Nice to meet you. Here we are." Mrs. Gerber said, walking into an empty classroom next to the office.

"Samantha, Shawn, and Mike, this is Becca and her friend Ka—Ka---"

"Kagome." Becca supplied, finding Kagome's hand and grasping it.

"Sango?" Kagome whispered.

"No, that's Samantha." Mrs. Gerber corrected her. Becca could only stand there in shock as she stared at the three other new students.

Samantha looked exactly like Sango, with her hair pulled into a high ponytail. Mike looked like Miroku, without the ponytail or beads of monk-hood. Both Becca and Kagome couldn't find the "Hentai!" prayer beads that should've adorned his neck. The third, Shawn, wasn't familiar at all. His copper colored hair was mid-back length and tied back. "Well, while you get acquainted, I need to talk to Mr. Briggs about something." Mrs. Gerber said, excusing herself from the room.

"Who found it?" Becca asked quietly. Samantha looked up and smiled.

"Inuyasha. Kagome! I've missed you!" Samantha said, charging at Kagome.

"Sango?" Kagome asked yet again.

"Yep!" Sango said cheerfully, squeezing Kagome as tight as she could. Becca walked up to Shawn and searched his face.

"Who're you?" she asked.

"Oh sure, you remember them, but you don't remember me?" He asked, removing a gold moonstone set bracelet from his wrist.

A fluffy foxtail appeared out of nowhere and his ears became pointed. "Shippo!" Becca cried, throwing her arms around his neck. Kagome's eyes widened in surprise as Shippo's concealment fell.

"Shippo-chan? Shippo-chan!" Kagome cried, nearly knocking over in a giant hug.

"Miroku." Becca said, extending her hand. Miroku took it and shook.

"So, are you working for Carl? I take it that's why Fluffy was there." Becca said, as the group headed for Mrs. Gerber's classroom now that the hug fest was over.

"Bec, we've been working there for years. I'm the reason why Paul's there. He's Hachie's grandson." Miroku said, wrapping his arm around Sango's waist.

"So, where's Inuyasha?" Kagome asked quietly.

"We haven't seen him since the 70's. Both of them too off to California." Sango explained.

"Well, one of them's alive. Inuyasha probably. There was a mugging this morning. Female cat youkai, murdered. Down the alleyway were scars from Tetsusaiga. They were fresh in the brick wall and cement. By the way, where's Lady Kaede?" Becca asked. All three exchanged glances.

"Kaede…opted not to take the potion. She wanted to live out her life. She said the reincarnation cycle had to move on." Miroku said sadly. Kagome looked like she was on the verge of tears until something registered in her mind.

"What potion?" She asked as they entered the classroom. Becca opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the students in the classroom.

"Hey, let's ask them! Do you know what those are?" asked Ariel, her short black hair spiked in the back.

"Jeez, nice hello, Ariel. Do we know what what is?" Becca asked.

"Those things in the corner." Said another girl, pointing to a corner near Mrs. Gerber's desk.

"What the hell are you guys---" Becca trailed off as her jaw dropped. In the corner was Hiraikotsu, Miroku's staff, and a set of bow and arrows.

"Hey Becca, what are they? They look like the props from that shrine we saw you at. Except that boomerang this is heavy." Will said, collapsing in his seat.

"Will, you can barely even lift your own body weight, nevermind a huge boomerang." One of the other guys retorted.

"Shut up, Terrance." Was Will's "Brilliant" comeback.

Any further verbal abuse on Will was cut short when Mrs. Gerber walked into the room. "Good morning!" She said cheerfully.

"Yo, what up Miz G." Terrance called from the back of the room.

"Morning Terrance. Now, where's Charles?" Mrs. Gerber asked as she looked over the attendance sheet.

Half of the class' fingers pointed to a blonde guy fast asleep in the corner. "You guys never learn…" She said morosely, picking up a piece of chalk and taking aim.

"Goddammit!" Charles sat up quickly, a red welt on his forehead.

"Cheesy Chaz, you should have learned not to fall asleep in Mrs. G.'s class by now." Becca chastised.

"Did she just throw a piece of chalk at him?" Kagome questioned quietly.

"I told you, we're barbaric." Becca said with a wink.

"Oh crap. That means you and your weird friends are back." Charles groaned.

"You're really stupid, you know that? I have two easily accessible weapons over there and you're running your mouth. Not too smart, huh baka?" Becca shot back. This made Charles pale. His reaction drew a satisfied smirk from Becca.

"ALL RIGHT!" Mrs. Gerber hollered, making everyone jump. "This is Samantha, Mike, Shawn, and Kagome. They're exchange students from Japan. They are to be treated with respect. _Do I make myself clear_?" Mrs. Gerber demanded. Everyone nodded. "Alright, we're going outside to show you some ancient weapons Mike, Samantha, and Shawn brought in. They're going to give us a little demonstration." The teacher continued. "So, please listen to any safety rules they may have."

Becca raised her hand. "Can I list a couple?" she asked. Mrs. Gerber nodded. "Okay. If someone says 'duck', or something like that, hit the ground. Oh, and if by any chance, Kagome yells out 'oswari', eat some grass…it's good for you. Got it?" Becca asked. The class nodded again.

"Okay, Terrance, can you grab the boomerang? Ariel and Kira the staff and bow and arrows?" Mrs. Gerber voiced.

"Okay." Came the three voices.

Terrance walked over to Hiraikotsu and attempted to lift it. "Son of a bitch!" Terrance swore.

"Inuyasha's not here, but I'm close enough." Shippo said.

"Shippo!" Miroku hissed, grabbing his staff from Kira as she passed and smacked the kitsune across the head with it. Sango shot both of them a glare and walked over to Terrance.

"Here, let me get that." She said, hefting it with practiced ease. Terrance's mouth dropped open as he stared at the taijiya in shock.

"Terrance, don't think too hard on it," Becca said, clapping him on the shoulder in reassurance. "You'll hurt yourself." "Wha---but---HEY!" Terrance spluttered after her.

As the class assembled outside, Sango and Miroku lined up, with Shippo as the monk's target. Becca stood to the side so she would be able to catch either of the weapons if they went off course. Kagome stood next to her, looking a little confused. "Hey! What're these for?" Ariel hollered, holding up the bow and arrows. Sango glanced at the arrows, then turned to Kagome.

"Kagome-chan! Those are for you from Lady Kaede to 'defeat the youkai of the future'." Sango called to the miko in Japanese. Tears welled up in Kagome's eyes as she took the ancient weapon from Ariel and stood over next to Sango.

Miroku stepped forward. "Okay, this staff was wielded by a very---"

"---Perverted---" put in his four friends.

"---Skilled monk about 500 years ago." Miroku explained as the class chuckled. "It could deflect any attack with its holy powers." He finished.

"What else can it do?" someone yelled out from the crowd, clearly not impressed.

"Well, when it's thrown, it can knock a target off its feet." Miroku said, hurling the object at Shippo, who had been running back and forth like an idiot. The staff his him across the midriff, sending him about ten feet backwards. Shippo's arm rose up from his place on the ground, and he flashed a thumbs-up signal.

"I'm okay!" he yelled as Miroku jogged over to him.

"Now, this is Hiraikotsu, a giant boomerang bone. In the same time period as the monk's staff, it was used to kill anything it its bath. It's extremely heavy and powerful, and can slice anything in half with one hit." Sango said as Becca ran out to catch the giant bone if it went too far. "Ready?" Sango called out. Becca nodded and braced herself as Sango let the boomerang fly. Becca started running as it went sailing over her head. She managed to catch it before it made it to the parking lot. Bracing herself, Becca heaved Hiraikotsu back to its owner. Sango thought it with ease as Becca slowly made her way back to the group and collapsed next to Shippo, who had sat down at the sidelines.

"I'm done. Use the monk for venting now." She announced and Shippo nodded in agreement.

"I would, but it's Kagome's turn." Sango said sadly, causing Miroku to sigh in relief. All eyes turned to Kagome expectantly.

"Ummm…you remember the 'Legend of the Hanyou', right?" she asked. Most of the class nodded. "Okay, this bow belonged to the miko in that story. It was a gift to her from a very dear friend. It has holy powers just like the staff, except the holy arrows can disintegrate a foe with a single shot if one has good aim. But one has to be either a monk or a miko. Coming from a shrine, I have been trained as a miko. Let's see how good of an aim I have." Kagome said, taking aim at the bull's eye that had been set up on the front of a hay bale.

Concentrating on the target, she let the arrow fly. It hit the bull's eye dead center. Kagome stepped back as the target exploded. The class behind her gaped at the ash that had previously been the target. Her friends began to clap, and it took a couple of minutes for the others to join in, but soon, Kagome was showered with applause.

Two blocks later, everyone sat at the lunch table, waiting for Kagome and Becca to get their lunches. Kagome walked into the cafeteria first, talking animatedly to two extremely familiar people. Becca followed behind, talking to a red-haired guy. The crew did a simultaneous double take, then promptly charged Sango and Miroku, squishing Kagome in the process.

"Nobody every notices me." Shippo said sadly.

"It's okay Shippo, I still love you. Come on, I'll show you to the table." Becca said as she led the kitsune to the crew's abandoned table.

As soon as she sat down, a tall, redhead girl sauntered over to them, her eyes on Shippo. "Hi Becky!" She screeched perkily.

"Oh no…" Becca groaned, switching over to Japanese.

"What?" Shippo questioned as the girl steadily made her way toward them.

"She's like one of Naraku's nasty spawn. What do you want, Victoria?" Becca snapped, switching from Japanese to English.

"Jeesh, you think you could be a little nicer to your BFF." Victoria said snottily as Shippo raised an eyebrow.

"You're ability to call me that expired when you ripped my feelings to shreds. Was that dumbed down enough for you?" Becca replied hostily. But this time, the girl ignored her, and turned her attention to Shippo.

"Hi, I'm Victoria, Toria for short." Victoria said, extending her hand.

"And he's too old for you. Now go back to your sewers where you belong." Becca spat, shoving the girl away.

Victoria huffed away, and zeroed in on a new target. Sauntering over to Miroku, she did the same thing she had done to Shippo. To everyone's surprise, Miroku wrapped an arm around Sango's waist, and Sango rewarded him with a kiss on the lips. "Now that's new." Becca observed as Victoria stomped away.

"Oh, you mean the non-groping?" Shippo asked, his mouth full of burger.

"No, I meant the kissing part." Becca said, staring at the couple in disbelief.

"Oh, not really. They got married about 100 years ago." Shippo explained.

"Wow…" Becca whispered.

"Tell me about it. When he finally popped the question, the rest of us almost jumped up and down in relief." Shippo said, rolling his eyes.

After what seemed like hours, everyone finally returned to the table. "Hey, Kags. I'm going to a college Monday during the day for a trial class. Mrs. Gerber signed you up too because it's a mythology class and you have good grades in mythology." Becca explained suddenly, munching on a fry.

"Okay…that sounds fun." Kagome said slowly, munching on her own lunch.

Suddenly, her eyes widened in realization. "Oh my God, I forgot to tell Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka I was leaving!"

This caused Lyndsi to realize something too. "And I forgot to tell Damien!" She gasped.

"Ummm…can't you just call them?" Shippo pointed out. The two girls seemed to calm down as the kitsune's statement sunk in.

"Oh yeah…" Kagome said sheepishly.

The table lapsed into comfortable silence as everyone munched on their food. "Why am I in chorus?" Kagome asked suddenly as she looked over her schedule. The crew looked at Becca for an answer.

"Well, I thought it would be a good idea since most of us are in there anyway. Plus, it's fun!" Becca said.

"Okay…is our chorus teacher that blonde lady that Inuyasha almost attacked?" Kagome asked. Becca blinked in surprise and looked at Kagome oddly.

"You remember her? No, that's Mrs. Lister. She's the music teacher at the Junior High School." Becca explained.

All other conversation was cut short when the bell rang.

A/N: TADA!!!!!! Took me long enough, ne? Yeah…I kinda dropped off the face of the Earth...but I think I'm back now!!!

Review!

3


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I TOLD you!

The buzzing of the alarm clock broke through Kagome's dream. She didn't even bother hitting the snooze button, but chose to unplug the thing instead. She had learned a lot in a week. She burrowed deeper into the pillow, trying to get back to her wonderful dreams of the Sengoku Jidai.

No such luck.

"Damn it, we have to go to that class today." Becca grumbled.

"Doesn't that mean we get to sleep later? The class isn't until eleven." Kagome pointed out, pulling the blankets over her head.

"Yeah right," Becca scoffed. "We have to check in before we do anything. So, we have to go to school, _on time_, and then we can leave." Kagome shot her an odd look.

"You guys have weird customs." She said, muffling a yawn with her hand.

"Not really. We used to be able to just call in, but some assholes kept skipping the classes, and the rest of us got screwed." Becca grouched, hauling herself out of bed. Kagome finally gave up and sat up.

"That's rude." She observed.

"Yeah, I know." Becca said, finding some clothes in the closet before changing in the confines of the closet.

"So what are you going to do for two and a half hours?" Kagome asked, running a brush through her hair.

"We can go get breakfast, and I can show you around where I work, if you want." Becca offered, opening the door, revealing her dressed in jeans and a white sweater.

"Sure, that sounds good. Going a little anti-punk today?" Kagome teased. Becca made a face at her.

"Shove it." She said, brushing her hair out. Kagome got up and walked to the closet, shuffling through the hangers. "I'm warning you, though. It's a little different than where normal people work." Becca warned as the closet door closed.

"And I don't call shooting flaming pink arrows normal, either." Kagome's muffled voice pointed out from the other side of the door. Becca laughed.

"Good point." She said, pulling her hair into a high ponytail. Kagome emerged wearing jeans and a black sweater, similar to Becca's.

"Going a little anti-miko today are we?" Becca teased.

"Shove it."

XXXXXXXX

A half an hour later, the crew arrived at the school, and everyone seemed to scatter. Kagome and Becca went to their lockers to grab notebooks before going to hunt down Miroku, Shippo, and Sango. They found them standing around Shippo's locker. "I heard you're coming back to work today." Miroku said as soon as he saw the two.

"Unfortunately, yes. Though, Paul's been good. I thought for sure I was going to get called in for that mugging last Monday." Becca said, watching as Shippo produced a stick of chocolate pocky from his locker.

"It's been oddly quiet these days. Only minor crimes." He said, munching on the cookie.

"So I've heard. I hope it stays like that." Becca sighed, and the other three nodded in agreement.

"Knowing you, it would get worse once you got back." Miroku teased.

"Shut it, monk." Becca growled, and Kagome laughed. After a couple of minutes, the crew straggled in from different parts of the school.

"Well, Kagome and I have to scram…we get to go to college." Becca said cheerfully, earning death-glares from the rest of the crew.

As the two got into the car, Becca turned to Kagome. "So, does picking up breakfast and heading to my work sound good?" She asked. Kagome nodded.

"Sounds fine to me." She said, looking through Becca's various CDs. She started laughing suddenly, and held up a CD.

"You own a Morning Musume CD?" She giggled.

"Yes, I do. Don't tell anyone." Becca grinned before starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot.

"So, where do you guys work?" Kagome asked once she had finished giggling.

"It's called DR, or Demon Relations. It's like a youkai police department." Becca explained.

"That's cool. So you get to solve murders and stuff?" Kagome asked.

"Only when there's a youkai involved. We have a couple of sources from the humans that tell us if we need to be called in or not." Becca told her.

"Wow. How did you get this job, anyway?" Kagome asked.

"Umm…it's a long story. What do you want to eat?" Becca asked, praying that it would veer Kagome off the subject. Luckily for her, it worked, and Kagome looked over the Dunkin' Donuts menu as they waited in the line at the drive-thru.

XXXXXX

Becca and Kagome walked into the DR building with cups of vanilla chai and breakfast sandwiches. "Hey Bec! How's the hunting life?" Called an old cat youkai who was being escorted in handcuffs down a hallway by a burly-looking bear youkai.

"Benny! What the hell are you in here for?" Becca demanded, striding over to the youkai.

"Got busted for 'nip. Where the hell've you been?" Benny questioned.

"Japan. Didn't I tell you to stay offa that crap?" Becca demanded.

"I am! For two years! Some little bastard put it in my coat." Benny defended himself.

"Who's your P.O. again?" Becca asked.

"Clarke. I've got a job now too!" Benny said with a toothless grin.

"Great! Okay, I've gotta go, but I'll talk to Clarke. Stay away from the 'nip! If I see your ass in here again, you'll be in deep shit, got it?" Becca said, heading up the stairs, Kagome following behind.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. See ya, _detective_ Becca." Benny shot back.

"You know him?" Kagome asked as they went up the flight of stairs.

"Yeah, Benny was my first bust ever when I was a rookie. He's been clean and everything for two years. I know he didn't do it. He's given me his word. He was so heartbroken when he'd seen what he'd done to his family, he quit cold turkey. He's been clean ever since." Becca explained as they neared the top.

"Wow." Kagome said airily.

"Yeah, he's scary lookin' but he's so sweet. He comes to visit every once in a while." Becca explained.

"Becca! Hun! How've you been?" asked a red-haired woman from behind the desk.

"Maggie!" Becca exclaimed, walking over to the desk.

"I haven't seen you in ages, dahlin'!" Maggie said in her Texan accent, and walked out from behind the desk to envelope Becca in a hug.

"Now, who's this pretty little thang?" Maggie asked, looking Kagome over.

"This is Kagome. She's a friend of mine." Becca explained.

"Awww…nice to meet ya, hun. I'm Maggie." Maggie said, extending a hand.

"You too." Kagome said, a little shyly, taking Maggie's hand and shaking. Maggie slipped back behind the desk and eyed the two.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" She questioned suddenly, giving both girls a critical look-over.

"Yes, but we're attending an observation at UMass. So, we're excused for the day. The class doesn't start till eleven, so I thought I'd come by to see how things were." Becca explained.

"Oh! Well then why don't you two go see the ol' bear? He's in his office." Maggie said, shooing them away. Becca nodded, and pulled Kagome in the direction of her boss' office.

"Ol' bear?" Kagome repeated.

"Yep, Carl's a bear youkai. More like a teddy bear youkai." Becca said, walking to a huge office door that read, 'Carl Sanders'.

"He's the head of DR. He's a really nice guy, even though he tries to be intimidating." Becca added, knocking on the door before walking in with Kagome following behind.

"Why aren't you in school?" Were the first words out of Carl's mouth.

"Good morning to you too. I have something to do at UMass. I brought someone for you to meet. Plus, a donut." Becca said, plopping the small Dunkin' Donuts bag on the desk.

Carl stood up and walked over to Kagome. "Hi, I'm Carl Sanders." Carl said, offering Kagome his hand. She took it, smiling politely.

"Kagome Higurashi." She introduced herself, vaguely remembering to switch the order of her name around.

"She's Inuysaha's miko." Becca added, causing Kagome to blush a healthy shade of pink.

"Inuyasha's miko? You mean _you're_ the one in all the legends?" Carl inquisited. Kagome could only nod sheepishly.

"Holy crap. Wait, that means you'll be able to identify something." Carl said, flipping through the files that were piled on his desk.

"Here we go. These markings were found at a crime scene. One of our detectives said it looked like a certain attack marking. Can you agree to that?" Carl asked, handing Kagome a picture. Kagome looked at it and gasped.

"This is---these are Tetsusaiga marks." Kagome said, dropping the photo on the desk in surprise. Becca peered at the picture, and then glared a Carl.

"I told you so." Becca said flatly.

"That's Inuyasha's attack. Kaze no Kizu." Kagome said in shock.

"The Wind Scar penetrated the brick wall and we assumed the suspect was disintegrated." Carl put in.

"There is no need to assume. That suspect _was_ disintegrated. Anything that was in the path of that attack is now dust. If it had been Inuyasha's strongest Kaze no Kizu, the building would have been gone too." Kagome stated matter-of-factly. Carl's eyes nearly disappeared into his bangs.

"Carl, just eat your donut. You have to be there to see it." Becca said. Carl bit into his maple-frosted donut and tried to imagine an attack that strong.

"He can really do it. Inuyasha may be hanyou, but he's strong." Kagome assured him quietly.

"Why didn't you ask Sango, Miroku, and Shippo?" Becca asked, plopping down in one of the chairs that were in front of Carl's desk.

"They were on another case. There was a ring distributing 'nip." Carl explained.

"What's 'nip?" Kagome asked suddenly.

"Ummm…Catnip. It's like ecstasy for cat youkai." Becca told her.

"Really? So Benny was set up with Catnip?" Kagome was suddenly piecing everything together.

"Benny? Where did you meet Benny?" Carl questioned.

"He was busted for possession. He told me some punk slipped it in his pocket. I believe him. He gave me his word. He even has a job." Becca explained.

"Really now? I think you were the only one to ever set that guy straight." Carl said, shooting Becca a smile.

"That's because you didn't get to know them. You sent out detectives and rookies like they were ants. That's why when I had my first case, I evaluated them too. I think it was because I felt sorry for them." Becca said.

"But," She said, standing up. "I need to go see Clarke. Maybe Benny can help us pin the perp." Kagome made to follow her, but Becca shook her head.

"Have a seat and chill with Carl. He doesn't bite." Becca said, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

XXXXXX

It's amazing how far she's come." Carl sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"How far she's come?" Kagome echoed.

"You didn't know her back then, did you?" Carl asked. Kagome shook her head.

"Bec used to be really quiet…well, until she got arrested."

"She was arrested? Why?" Kagome gasped.

"She had just killed the bastard who had murdered her mother. She killed him out of pure revenge. Fae's killer had been wanted for months for other killings and rug selling. When Becca killed him single-handedly, we hired her and erased her of her charges. That was four years ago, and she's been here ever since." Carl told her.

Kagome sat heavily into the seat that Becca had previously occupied. Before she could reply, though, the door flew open behind her. "Sorry I'm late, Carl. My son took his claws to his sister's stuffed animal." Said a cool male voice. Kagome's eyes widened in recognition and she jumped out of her chair to pin the newcomer with a surprised look.

"Sesshoumaru?" She asked in surprise and confusion. Sesshoumaru stood there in pressed khaki pants and a silk white button down shirt. His long hair was tied back in a long braid.

"Ahh…miko. I was wondering when I was going to see you." Sesshoumaru said calmly, striding over to the chair opposite her, sitting down.

"What---you---you have kids? With Rin?" Kagome managed to choke out.

"Yes. Makoto and Sakura. Seven and five." Sesshoumaru said proudly. Kagome blinked in surprise at the tai-youkai. He actually had a smile on his face.

"Wow…umm..congratulations…' Kagome said, awestruck.

"Thank you." Sesshoumaru said, reverting back to his stoic tone.

"Benny's all set. He's going to be released." Becca announced, walking back into the office. Upon seeing Sesshoumaru, her expression turned cold.

"Lord Sesshoumaru." She greeted icily.

"Hunter." Sesshoumaru greeted, just as coldly.

"Carl, I'm going to go see Paul. Kagome? You coming?" Becca asked slowly.

Kagome nodded and got up, following Becca out of the office. "What was up with the Ice Queen?" Kagome asked as she tried to catch up to Becca, who was nearly running down the hallway.

"That bastard is mocking me. He knew I was here and he knows that I know he has Inuyasha and Kyoinu's whereabouts locked away in that bishounen head of his. Stupid prick!" Becca snarled, throwing open the door to her office. Paul, who had been asleep on the office couch, woke up with a yelp.

"What the hell crawled up your ass and died?" he grouched.

"Lord Fluffy." Becca said flatly. Paul chuckled and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Who're you?" He asked, trying to bring Kagome into focus.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi." Kagome said slowly, analyzing the raccoon youkai.

"Paul Hachie." Paul said, extending his hand. Kagome took his hand and shook.

"You're Hachie's grandson, aren't you?" She said in realization.

"Yeah, how do you know?" Paul questioned.

"I traveled with Miroku, Sango, and Shippo for four years." She explained.

"Really?"

"Yes. I love them all to death. Even Miroku…sometimes." Kagome grinned. Becca strode over to her desk and plopped down in her chair, picking up the file that had been placed on her desk.

"Donna Sutherland, 42, Ferret Youkai, strangled to death. Fingerprints found. Oh great." Becca grimaced as she read the cover sheet out loud.

"She was found on Burton Ave. last night. Addie says she wants you to go see her about the fingerprints." Paul told her, sitting back down on the couch.

"So that's why you were passed out on the couch. Well, I can't see Addie right now. I have to head up to UMass. Want one for the road Kagome?" Becca offered a Tootsie Pop out to Kagome, who took it.

"Thanks. Bye Paul. Nice meeting you!" Kagome said, following Becca out of the building and into the car.

"You know, I'm almost afraid of what this class is going to be about." Kagome said with a smile as she fastened her seatbelt.

"I'm excited. I might not teach right away, but I want something to do after hunting." Becca admitted.

"Eri and Yuka still haven't decided what they want to do for college. Ayumi's the only one who knows, and she's actually coming here on a scholarship." Kagome explained. She had called the three Saturday while Becca and Sango had gone to train Sandra. Becca had come home a little bumped and bruised, not to mention grumpy.

"That's really cool. She can even stay with us if she wants to. It's not her I mind, it's Eri and Yuka." Becca admitted. Kagome stared at her, shocked.

"That's...nice of you. I'll tell her that." Kagome said slowly, shooting her friend an appreciative smile.

The two lapsed into compatible silence as Becca turned onto the highway. "You've been feeling a little better, haven't you?" Becca piped up.

"Yeah, but I still miss him." Kagome replied.

"Well, it figures. Potential mate, gone for 500 years. That's why I left you alone for a week before even talking to your mom about coming here." Becca didn't even have to look at Kagome to know her face was beet red at Becca's implications.

"H-How do y-you know all that stuff?" Kagome stammered nervously.

"Well, if you live in a wolf youkai den for two years, then become a youkai hunter, you learn a thing or two." Becca said, grinning.

"Oh, so I could've been Inuyasha's mate? Kagome asked, a hint of disappointment in her tone.

"Hun, you pretty much _are_ Inuyasha's mate. Kyoinu on the other hand, probably has a mate with cute little pups running around." Becca said, offering Kagome a lifeless smile. Kagome shot her a knowing grin that Becca just so happened to miss. But that didn't stop Kagome from noticing the tinge of pink on Becca's cheeks.

A/N: Tada!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Thank God for keyboarding class.

Thanks for all the reviews guys!!! They're awesome, and very much appreciated.

And didn't I tell you I was back? P

I've been putting updates on my profile, so check 'em out!!!

Bec


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"Hi, we're here for an observation." Becca told the woman at the front desk professionally.

"What class?" The woman asked.

"History." Kagome answered.

"Here, take these and fill out your name and school." The woman said, sliding two visitor's stickers and a pen to them across the counter. Becca took then pen and filled them both out and handed the pen back to the woman and stuck the sticker on her chest. Kagome took hers and did the same. "Okay, you," the woman said, turning to Kagome. "Are going to be in Lecture 326, and you, Lecture 302." The woman turned to Becca, gave her a smile, then turned back to her computer. Kagome opened her mouth to argue, but Becca grabbed her arm and led her away.

"Do you realize that we're in different rooms?" Kagome demanded.

"Yes." Becca replied simply.

"Then why aren't we doing anything about it?!" Kagome snapped.

"Because home-girl was PMSing. It's okay, we can do this. They're college students, not youkai." Becca said, and stopped in front of a door.

"This is you." She said, and Kagome looked at the sign.

"Lecture Hall 326." She read.  
"Good luck." They both said together, and Kagome entered the classroom, and Becca went in search of her own class.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Kagome sat heavily in one of seats in the back. She was content in separating herself from the other students. Everyone was talking loudly, and didn't seem to notice her enter the huge room.

There were a couple of boards on the staged floor, three of them chalkboards, and some whiteboards pushed to the side. She sat and reflected on the conversation Becca and she had had on the way to the school. 'Was I really able to be Inuyasha's mate? Why didn't he tell me?' she thought to herself.

Suddenly, a loud booming voice nearly made Kagome fall out of her seat in surprise. "Sit down and shut the hell up!" The chatter stopped, and everyone dug for pens and notebooks. "Put those things away. We're doing a hands-on lesson today. For those of you who didn't want to get out of bed last week, my name is Professor Kiba." The male voice was straight-forward, gruff, and familiar to Kagome, causing her to glance up.

She gasped and almost fell out of her seat once again. "My outfit's weird, I know, so shut your mouths. Today, we're doing Japanese history. The era we're working on is the Sengoku Jidai or the Warring-States Era. Does anyone know anything about this era?" Kagome tentatively raised her hand in the air. This past year, all the teachers she had for history had brought it up. "Yes…Kagome?" Kagome raised her eyes at the sound of her name and met golden ones that she thought she'd never see again.

"Inuyasha?" She asked, forgetting the question completely. The professor was dressed in his normal fire-rat clothing, bare feet, and the Tetsusaiga at his hip. The only things that were missing were his ears, claws, and fangs.

Professor Kiba's mouth hung open in shock as the two stared at each other. One of the other students cleared their throat, causing both two snap back to reality. The professor shook his head and tried to put a sentence together. "Good. Umm…the Legend of…umm…Inuyasha." He managed to get out. It took him a minute to regain his composure before continuing. "This is what men in the Sengoku Jidai usually wore. The pants are called hakama, and the shirt is called a haori. Any questions?" The professor said, burying his arms in the massive confines of the haori sleeves.

A blonde girl raised her hand. "Yes?" Professor Kiba asked. "Like, where'd you like, get that totally cool necklace?" She asked in a bubbly voice. The professor smirked and looked up at Kagome. "How about we ask our guest?" Kagome shifted uncomfortably in her seat as everyone turned around to look at her.

"They're prayer beads. They were used by mikos, or priestesses to subdue." Kagome explained nervously. The professor nodded, and turned around. Curious, Kagome uttered one word under her breath,

"Oswari."

XXXXXXXXXXX 

Becca sat in a seat in the middle of the room, tapping her pen against the desk. Everyone else was in their own little cliques, leaving her alone.

Suddenly, a girl came over to her and asked, "You're new here, aren't you?" Becca blinked at her in surprise.

"Umm…I'm just here to observe. I'm Becca." She said. The girl looked at her, then smiled.

"I'm Sarah. You'll like the teacher. He's really hot, and really soft-spoken." Sarah said.

"Really?" Becca asked, letting her mind wander. She wasn't really interested in some "hot" professor. She wanted to be running with the Wolf Pack. It was her way of venting. Kagome may cry as her way of venting, but Becca refused to. It had been bad enough when Kyoinu had seen her crying, but nobody else ever had. She always buried herself in other things like work, and keeping Kouga in line. That's why she hadn't fought when she was sent to Japan. Her world was causing her to crack. Her two former best friends had resurfaced, and somehow formed an alliance to make her life miserable. She had needed something to keep herself busy. She hadn't known that all that had happened would've happened.

She was shaken out of her musings by Sarah tapping her roughly on the arm. He's here! That's the professor!" Becca looked up, and took in the man's appearance. He looked bout twenty-four, dressed in black pants and a navy dress shirt. His waist-length black hair was in a braid, and glasses framed his violet eyes. Becca stared open-mouthed at the professor.

"Today, we will be learning a little Japanese history. I, myself, am from Japan. Let's see if anyone can break down my name to English." He said in a calm tone. He took a piece of chalk, and wrote his name on the board. "**KYOINU KIBA**" He read the name written on the blackboard out loud.

"Prideful dog of the Fang." Becca spoke up, too shocked to realize what she was doing.

"How did you know that?" Sarah asked in her ear. But Becca didn't answer her. She was far too preoccupied with the professor up front. He whirled around and stared at her in shock.

"Very good! May I ask your name?" Professor Kiba asked.

"Becca. I'm observing from WHS." Becca told him slowly.

"Awesome. I'm professor Kiba. Welcome to my class." He said, his eyes meeting hers. Becca was confused. Was it really him? Or the Gods' idea of a sick joke?

She saw an emotion in the professor's eyes and she knew her answer.

XXXXXXXXXXX 

To Kagome's relief, the professor face-vaulted onto the platform. She heaved a sigh, then braced herself for the curing that was likely to come out of the hanyou's mouth. His reaction nearly made her take what would be her third fall from her seat.

He laughed.

As she got over her shock, she quirked an eyebrow, wondering if she had finally knocked something loose. "Crap, damn platform." Inuyasha said, getting up as the subduing spell wore off. She felt the hot tears pinprick her vision and hastily blinked them back. She knew damn well if Inuaysha got a whiff of them, and she'd be in some serious trouble.

He continued teaching as if nothing had happened, glancing up at her every few seconds. To her dismay, he launched into a lesson about the Legend of the Hanyou.

Their legend.

A/N: AIEEEEE!! I know, it's short and crappy!!! I'm sorry!!!!

But: It's up. Finally. Things are only going to get better (I hope) from here. Thank you for the reviews, and keep 'em coming!!!

Bec


	6. Chapter 6

Realization dawned on Becca as she looked at the professor. He winked at her and turned around to face his name on the board.

It was Kyoinu! Her Kyoinu! It _had _to be.

"Today, I think we will work on Japanese myths. The Japanese have a lot of myths in their history. Their myths are filled with demons and moon princesses. It's a part of their culture. Does anyone know any myths?" Kyoinu asked. Becca sighed and raised her hand.

"Becca?" "There is a story about a wolf youkai—demon!—clan. Led by their fearless leader, legend says his name was Kouga, they were powerful in all of ancient Japan." Becca said, watching the professor for a reaction. He only grinned.

"If I recall correctly, there was a sorceress that kept this 'Kouga' in line." The professor said slyly, a smile spreading over his face. Becca erupted in a fit of laughter. She was vaguely aware of Sarah's hand shooting up next to her. "Yes Sara?"

"I'm confused. What are you guys talking about a sorceress?" Sarah questioned.

"Well, it all began with a dog hanyou…"

XXXXXXXXX

Kagome watched as Inuyasha wrote down the names of their friends that they had come across over their years on their journeys. He hadn't changed one bit. He only looked twenty-four, and still had the boyishness she'd always known him to have.

She knotted her hands in her sweater, repressing the urge to run down the steps and smother him with kisses. She read over the names on the board and found someone missing.

"You're forgetting someone." She piped up.

"Who?" Inuyasha asked, stepping back to read the board.

"Jaken. She told him.

"How could I forget that annoying toad? No wonder Sesshoumaru acted like he had a stick shoved up his ass. He had an annoying toad youkai there instead." He observed, adding the name to the chalkboard.

"Who's Sesshoumaru?" asked a guy sitting a couple rows in front of Kagome.

"Well, Sesshoumaru was Inuyasha's cold and stoic brother. A regular asshole. Jaken was his retainer and extremely annoying He followed Sesshoumaru around all the time. If you thought Timone and Puumba were bad, Jaken was worse. Inuyasha also had a retainer. Myoga. Old man Myoga was a flea youkai, and always left when there was danger. They could always know if there was danger because Myoga would disappear." Inuyasha explained. The guy nodded in understandment. Inuyasha pointed to another name on the board.

"Miroku, the lecherous monk." He started Kagome rolled her eyes. This might cause some problems….

XXXXXXXXX

"Ginta was not gay!"

"He was too!"

"He was not!" Becca and Kyoinu ping-ponged the possibility that Ginta was gay while the others watched on in shock.

"He definitely wasn't gay! He's as gay as Fluffy, and as much as Fluffy looks gay, I hope to hell he's not!" Kyoniu contemplated the thought for a minute, then a sly smirk crossed his face.

"He lined his crests with makeup. One will never know…" Becca's jaw dropped.

"Well, then, he's as gay as Inuyasha!" Becca finally spluttered.

"You never know…" Kyoinu smirked.

"Well, I'm sure Kagome would like to know that piece of information. Then, she'll purify your ass after he runs his claws through you." Becca told him as his smirk disappeared.

"Ummm…" Sarah called, raising her hand.

"WHAT?!" both Kyoinu and Becca whirled on her.

"This is confusing. Who was gay?" Sarah asked.

"Ginta, one of Kouga's men was—"

"Definitely not gay!" Becca interrupted Kyoinu's statement.

They both stared each other down. "Kyoinu, I swear to the gods that I'm going to kick your ass if you don't change the topic." Becca exploded in Japanese along with other profanities.

"Fine, fine. Kouga was a pain in the ass. He was the lord of the Eastern lands. He had a thing for Inuyasha's miko. That was until the sorceress returned. That abruptly ended." Kyoinu said with a smirk.

"Here we go…" Becca groaned.

"That is a shitty sword." One of the guys stated flatly. Other students nodded in agreement.

"You ain't seen nothing—damn it." Inuyasha swore as the bell rang. Everyone scrambled to the exit except Kagome, who sat in her seat and looked at Inuyasha. He stood in the middle of the room, looking regal until the last person filed out of the lecture room. "Come on, wench. We need to talk." Inuyasha said gruffly in Japanese, turning on his heel and disappearing through a back door. Kagome quietly picked up her things and followed behind, dreading what was to come.

'He's probably going to tell me he's married, then show me pictures of his pups.' Kagome thought miserably. She stepped quietly into his office, and Inuyasha closed the door behind them. He took the gold bracelet off his wrist and set it on the desk. Kagome gave a weak smile as his furry ears reappeared.

"Wench. What are you doubting?" It wasn't a question. Kagome sat down heavily on the couch that was in the room.

"Doubting? I'm not doubting." She said weakly.

"Wench, I can smell it. Tell me." He said sternly. Kagome started knotting her hands in the fabric of her sweater.

Inuyasha scowled as the smell of salt water penetrated his nose. Her fingers moved faster and faster until a clawed hand gently reached out and stopped her. Inuyasha lifted her chin gently with his other hand and searched her teary eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly.

"You're married, aren't you?" Kagome sniffled. Inuyasha's eyes widened in shock at her accusation. He sighed and sat down next to her, dragging her into his lap.

"What makes you say that?" He asked, burying his nose in her hair.

"Because, it's been 500 years. You've got to have a mate…with kids." Inuyasha turned Kagome's head so he could look into her eyes.

"Yes, I have a mate." He admitted. Kagome tried to turn away and get up out of his lap, but he held her fast.

"Well, at least a potential one. She's sitting right here, too." It took a couple minutes for the news to sink in, but when Kagome realized what he had said, she stared at him in surprise.

"Really?" She whispered.

"Absolutely. Kagome, there's no one else I'd rather be with. I love you…even after 500 years." Inuyasha said softly, watching her for a reaction. She looked at him in shock for a moment, she threw her arms around his neck.

"I love you too." She whispered, hugging him as hard as she could. She let go of him, but only for a moment as to capture his lips in a kiss.

XXXXXXXXX

"He was like her brother! That's so gross!" Becca argued.

"I find that hard to believe. If he could hit on Kagome, he could hit on the Sorceress!" Kyoinu argued back. Becca opened her mouth, but was cut off by the bell. Every got up out their seats and headed to the door.

"C'mon, I'll walk you out." Sarah volunteered.

"Umm….Sarah, I'm sorry, but I need to talk to the professor. Maybe some other time?" Becca asked.

"Oh, okay, but when?" Sarah asked.

"You'll probably be seeing me a lot more. Trust me." Becca told her.

"Okay…later!" Sarah said, waving as she walked out the door. Becca turned around to find Kyoinu gone.

"Damn." Becca swore, following his energies. She tracked him to an office and walked in. "Did you know I was coming?" Becca asked, closing the door behind her.

"No. I didn't even know I was getting observed. Nobody told me anything." Kyoinu told her.

"Oh. Awww…what cute pups!" Becca exclaimed fakely, picking up a picture of a little boy wearing a Japanese school uniform, standing next to a little girl in an elaborate cherry blossom kimono.

"The boy is Makoto on his first day of school. He's seven. The girl is Sakura. She's five. She was so excited about that kimono. She wore it for a week straight before her mother made her put it in the wash." Kyoinu said, smiling.

"So, who's their mother?" Becca questioned.

"Rin." Becca blinked.

"Isn't Rin Fluffy's mate?" She asked, looking at him strangely.

"Yes…wait, you think that they're mine? No, they're Fluffy's. My niece and nephew." Kyoinu explained as Becca's face went through various degrees of red.

"Heh, I'm going to find Kagome now that I've made a complete ass of myself." Be4cca said, turning to leave the office.

"Wait." Kyoinu said, grabbing her arm. Becca turned around slowly, refusing to meet his eyes.

"What?" She asked softly.

"Don't tell me we went through all that crap for nothing. Do you honestly think I'd do that to you?" Kyoinu asked her. Becca shook her head and slowly raised her eyes to meet his.

"I was hoping not. But, we haven't known each other very long, and I didn't think you'd stayed and wait for me." Becca admitted truthfully, waiting for Kyoinu's reaction.

To her surprise, he wrapped her in a tight hug. "I'm never going to leave you. I'll always be there for you." Kyoinu reassure her.

"Thank you." She whispered, snaking her arms around his neck.

A/N: Okay, slightly longer. I meant to update this morning, but the internet at school was down. --

But it's up now!

Bec


	7. Chapter 7

Kyoinu and Becca stood like that for a couple of minutes before Becca remembered about Kagome. "Holy shit! Kagome! Can you help me find 326?" Becca asked, hurrying out of the door. She turned the corner and was pulled back as Kyoinu led her the other way.

"It's this way." He told her, dragging her along to the lecture room.

"Wait, where are we going?" Becca asked as she noticed that they were walking past professors' offices.

"She's going to be in the office., It's school policy to interview possible new students to se if they're right for the college." He explained, stopping at a door that said, "326" in bold, black, letters. He knocked quickly before letting himself in. He nearly had to catch Becca as she slammed into his back when he stopped short.

"Now _that's _a different way of interviewing." Becca observed as she spotted Kagome in a lip-lock with the professor.

"Bec!" Kagome gasped, butting as much distance as she could between her and the professor.

"Inuyasha? You're teaching here too?" Becca questioned.

"Well no shit, who the hell else would Kagome be kissing?" Inuyasha snapped, pulling Kagome possessively against him.

"I just didn't think you were smart enough." Becca said before ducking behind Kyoinu.

"Oi!" Inuyasha yelled, trying to get past his twin to get to Becca.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Becca heaved a sigh and turned away from the computer, rubbing her tired eyes. It was Friday night, and she had been working on typing up the same file of over an hour. Kyoinu was supposed to be bringing her food after his 4:00 class. It was a slow night at Demon Relations, so Carl had her working on files. This wasn't Becca's favorite idea to be spending a Friday night, but she sucked it up.

Suddenly, a petite woman in expensive clothing burst into her office, making her jump. "I need to find someone. She's missing." She stated, seating herself stiffly on the office's couch. Becca sighed and grabbed a missing person's report.

"Name and the date she went missing?" Becca asked.

"Fae Frueh, and all I know is she disappeared a while ago." The woman told her. Becca's pen stopped mid-letter and she looked at the woman in surprise.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but she's deceased." Becca explained sadly and gently.

"How would you know? Are you psychic?" The woman snapped angrily, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.

"Look, I don't know who you are, lady, but I know when my own mother died. Now please leave my office." Becca exploded, standing up and slamming her hands on her desk.

"Y-your mother?" the woman stammered, looking closely at Becca.

"Yes. She died four years ago September 8th. Please leave my office." Becca said, using her powers to gently but firmly push the woman out, slamming the door behind her. Becca collapsed back down in her seat and held her head in her hands. Her mother's death was not something she wanted to talk about, let alone with a complete stranger.

"Hey Bec?" Kyoinu's voice called softly from the other side of the door, accompanied by a soft knock. "You okay?"

"A little shaken, but I think I'm okay. You can come in you know." Becca called, not moving from her desk.

"What was that about? I almost got run over by this lady high-tailing it from your office." Kyoinu said, plopping two Ziplock containers on her desk.

"What's this?" Becca asked cautiously, opening the container carefully.

"It's spaghetti. Sango made it for us. She complained that we've been feeding Shippo too much pocky." Kyoinu explained, rolling his eyes.

"Sango cooked? I thought they didn't know where you lived." Becca said in confusion.

"Well…uh…we lied." Kyoinu said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Why I told you to surprise Kagome, I don't know." Becca said, popping one of the containers into the microwave that she had bought when she had started staying at the office until ungodly hours of the night.

"What was that lady here for?" Kyoinu asked again after a couple of minutes. Becca sighed and popped the second container in the microwave.

"She came in wanting to file a missing person's report." She told him, hunting for utensils.

"Then why was she so pissed off?" Kyoinu asked.

"The report was for my mother." Becca said casually, setting a bowl in front of him before sitting down in her chair. She had her first forkful halfway to her mouth when her intercom beeped. Dropping her fork back into the bowl, she pressed the button.

"Yeah?"  
"Becca, I have a woman here who says you were very rude to her when she came to file a report." Carl's voice buzzed from the intercom.

"Carl, I'm not in the fucking mood. Of course I'm going to flip out when she accused me of lying about my mother's fucking death. Tell her if she wants a civil conversation, she can come in without the goddamn attitude! I don't need this bullshit. If you need me, you know my number." She yelled into the intercom before slamming down the privacy button on the intercom.

"I don't know why the hell he just did that. He knows my mom's death is a touchy subject for me, even though I see her all the time." She sighed, trying to calm down, pushing her bowl away and holding her head in her hands. She felt the hot tears streaming down her face before she even had the chance to push them back. She was sobbing in a matter of minutes.

"Come here." Came Kyoinu's soft voice. Becca didn't move and felt strong arms pick her up and carry her over to the couch. Becca sobbed into Kyoinu's shirt and curled against him as she sat on his lap. Kyoinu tucked her head under his chin and rubbed her back soothingly, letting her cry.

A/N: w00t! Happy Valentine's day!! Since I wasn't doing anything special tonight, I thought I'd post an extra update!!! Sorry it's so depressing though…

Review please!!

Love,

Bec


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